Born in Soonchun in 1922, Hong Eun-won grew her interest in cinema since her childhood. During her high school years, she watched many movies. After graduation, Hong went over to Manchuria and became a member of Shin Kyung Music Choirs where she met director Choi Yin-gyu. After Korea was liberated from Japanese rule, Hong and Choi returned to Seoul and Hong started out in film industry as a continuity girl for Choi’s filmAn Innocent Criminal (1948). After 11 years as a con...More

Born in Soonchun in 1922, Hong Eun-won grew her interest in cinema since her childhood. During her high school years, she watched many movies. After graduation, Hong went over to Manchuria and became a member of Shin Kyung Music Choirs where she met director Choi Yin-gyu. After Korea was liberated from Japanese rule, Hong and Choi returned to Seoul and Hong started out in film industry as a continuity girl for Choi’s filmAn Innocent Criminal (1948). After 11 years as a continuity girl, Hong had built her career as an assistant director with Early Spring (1959), Burden of Love(1959), Ah! Baekbeom Kim Ku (1960) and Women Rule (1962), then she made her debut as a screenwriter with Affection and Apathy directed by Shin Kyeong-gyun. When she turned forty, she made her first feature film A Woman Judge (1962), which made her the second female filmmaker in Korean film history. Her first film dramatized the death of a woman judge, which was inspired by a true event. Through this well-made drama, Hong received recognition for her talents as a director and for her skills to dramatize the ideas. Hong directed two more films such as The Single Mom (1964) and What Misunderstanding Left Behind (1966).
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